The impact of intercropping, tillage and fertilizer type on soil and crop yield in fruit orchards under Mediterranean conditions: A meta-analysis of field studies

Morugán‐Coronado, Alicia; Linares, Carlos Eduardo Blanco; Gómez-López, María Dolores; Faz, Ángel; Zornoza, Raúl

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102736

Cited by 174 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Cover crops can impact the soil microbiome by changing soil characteristics (e.g., pH, temperature, and soil water content) which are known to influence soil microbial communities [11,18,23]. In addition, cover crops offer additional organic substrates through the input of plant residues and rhizodeposition, which may impact soil microbial communities [55][56][57].…”

Section: Cover Crops Increase Soil Microbial Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These changing soil conditions and increased organic inputs likely drive the increased microbial diversity found in soils of perennial systems planted with cover crops [11,14,58]. This increased soil microbial diversity is positively correlated with nearly all of the benefits of cover crops to production systems, including increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N (TN) contents and, ultimately, tree production [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] (Table 1).…”

Section: Cover Crops Increase Soil Microbial Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, herbicides are often applied for row middle vegetation management, which may result in the development of herbicide resistance [6,7]. Concerns associated with interactions between herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, soil nutrient availability, and plant phytotoxicity have been raised for several perennial tree crop production systems [8][9][10][11], increasing interest in alternative management strategies for these systems. Cover crops are a widely applied soil improvement and conservation technique in agriculture, particularly in annual cropping systems [12,13], and their implementation in tree cropping systems may provide the same benefits found in annual crops, including improved soil and root health; increased production; and reductions in costs due to decreases in fertilizers, irrigation, and herbicides [11,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerns associated with interactions between herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, soil nutrient availability, and plant phytotoxicity have been raised for several perennial tree crop production systems [8][9][10][11], increasing interest in alternative management strategies for these systems. Cover crops are a widely applied soil improvement and conservation technique in agriculture, particularly in annual cropping systems [12,13], and their implementation in tree cropping systems may provide the same benefits found in annual crops, including improved soil and root health; increased production; and reductions in costs due to decreases in fertilizers, irrigation, and herbicides [11,14]. Cover cropping can also improve soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling [15][16][17], as well as increase soil microbial abundance and diversity [18] and suppress soilborne pests [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regardless of whether cover crops are planted in the inter-row or between trees, there is potential for both the tree and cover crops to share resources [12]. Unlike annual cropping systems, annual rotation and soil tillage are not present in perennial systems, which potentially allows for greater increases in soil organic matter (SOM) [11,22] and the development of more stable communities of beneficial microbial communities [23]. The timing of cover crop planting is another large difference between annual and perennial systems.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Impact of Cover Crops on the Soil Microbiome of Tree Crops

Castellano‐Hinojosa

Strauss

2020

Microorganisms

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Increased concerns associated with interactions between herbicides, inorganic fertilizers, soil nutrient availability, and plant phytotoxicity in perennial tree crop production systems have renewed interest in the use of cover crops in the inter-row middles or between trees as an alternative sustainable management strategy for these systems. Although interactions between the soil microbiome and cover crops have been examined for annual cropping systems, there are critical differences in management and growth in perennial cropping systems that can influence the soil microbiome and, therefore, the response to cover crops. Here, we discuss the importance of cover crops in tree cropping systems using multispecies cover crop mixtures and minimum tillage and no-tillage to not only enhance the soil microbiome but also carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling compared to monocropping, conventional tillage, and inorganic fertilization. We also identify potentially important taxa and research gaps that need to be addressed to facilitate assessments of the relationships between cover crops, soil microbes, and the health of tree crops. Additional evaluations of the interactions between the soil microbiome, cover crops, nutrient cycling, and tree performance will allow for more effective and sustainable management of perennial cropping systems.

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Section: Cover Crops Increase Soil Microbial Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cover Crops Increase Soil Microbial Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of Cover Crops on the Soil Microbiome of Tree Crops

Castellano‐Hinojosa

Strauss

2020

Microorganisms

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Contrasting effects of agroecosystem biocrusts on seedling growth and nitrogen accumulation in a greenhouse environment

Nevins

Strauss

Inglett

2022

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Biological soil crust (biocrust) communities of bacteria, fungi, lichen, algae, and bryophytes were recently shown to release nitrogen (N) to the crop root zone in agroecosystems. While biocrusts in semi‐arid and dryland ecosystems have neutral, negative, and facilitative effects on plants, it is not known how agroecosystem biocrusts affect crop N accumulation and growth. Like biocrusts, legume cover crop associations with N‐fixing bacteria can increase soil N after termination, potentially supporting primary crops. This research compared the effects of biocrust application to a legume cover crop (cowpea; Vigna unguiculata) on citrus (Citrus sinensis) rootstock seedling growth, root system, and N accumulation. Seedling biomass, N accumulation, and stable N isotopic ratios (δ15N) were quantified after 29 and 120 d. Sampling date and amendment type had significant effects on seedling biomass, N content, root biomass distributions, and δ15N (p < .05). Seedlings with cowpea had less biomass than seedlings with biocrust or no amendment after 29 d. After 120 d, seedlings with biocrusts had significantly less biomass than seedlings with cowpea or no amendment (p < .05). Furthermore, seedlings without an amendment had significantly greater total root length than seedlings with an amendment (p < .05). Seedlings with biocrust had significantly less total N than seedlings with cowpea or no amendment despite having significantly lower plant δ15N (p < .05). These δ15N values indicated biocrust and cowpea were potentially N sources for seedlings. Overall, cowpea initially inhibited seedling growth, and biocrust had neutral and negative effects on seedling growth after 120 d.

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Soil management considerations for water resiliency in a changing climate

2023

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Providing adequate water for crops is a key consideration for agricultural resiliency. Climate change is expected to exert substantial pressure on crop water supplies through increased rainfall variability and increased evaporative demand. The temporal and spatial variability of these climate change impacts, in combination with many feedbacks, at times operating at different scales, makes identifying specific, yet broadly‐applicable “one size fits all” soil management solutions challenging. Adaptations that work well in one location may represent a poor management choice in another. Considering the local combinations of climate, soils, and crop production systems is fundamental for identifying appropriate strategies. Nonetheless, some broadly applicable soil management pathways for increasing soil water availability can be identified: i) maximizing rainfall capture, ii) maximizing soil water storage capacity (intensity × volume), and iii) suppressing unproductive evaporative water losses, particularly during intervals outside of the primary crop growing season. Selecting climate, soil, and production‐system appropriate tillage and surface cover management practices is among the most relevant considerations for improving soil water availability. Maintaining surface cover favors evaporation suppression and increased capture of precipitation. Tillage choices affect internal soil water storage through impacts on soil properties that influence storage intensity and by altering the volume of soil available for root growth, as well as through effects on surface cover. Promoted management practices aimed at improving soil water availability for increased agricultural resiliency must be practically feasible and cost‐effective in order to support their broad adoption, and such constraints should be an important consideration in their development.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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The impact of intercropping, tillage and fertilizer type on soil and crop yield in fruit orchards under Mediterranean conditions: A meta-analysis of field studies

Cited by 174 publications

References 86 publications

Impact of Cover Crops on the Soil Microbiome of Tree Crops

Impact of Cover Crops on the Soil Microbiome of Tree Crops

Contrasting effects of agroecosystem biocrusts on seedling growth and nitrogen accumulation in a greenhouse environment

Soil management considerations for water resiliency in a changing climate

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